Volunteer Opportunities Abound on the Canalway Trail

Would you like to lend a hand in maintaining your favorite section of the Canalway Trail? Or maybe share your nowledge of a favorite trail section and local attractions with visitors to the trail?

PTNY and the New York State Canal Corporation have plenty of volunteer opportunities along the Canalway Trail system.

Adopt-a-Trail

The Canalway Trail needs regular maintenance throughout the season to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for the public. Presently, about 50 groups and individuals are participating in the Canalway Trail Adopt-a-Trail (AAT) program by adopting sections of trail within their communities across the state.

Adopt-a-Trail groups tackle many types of maintenance tasks such as picking up litter, mowing, trimming brush, removing fallen branches, raking and patching the trail surface, maintaining signs, painting, and landscaping. Group coordinators receive a cap and identifying T-shirt. Trail adopters are able to work on their own schedule but it is recommended that between April and November they engage in maintenance activities once a month.

The statewide Adopt-a-Trail map shows where trail is presently adopted and what sections are available for adoption. (Open the map in a new window)

Read more about the Adopt-a-Trail Program at the Canal Corporation website.

To learn more or to sign up, please contact Parks & Trails New York, ptny@ptny.org,
518-434-1583.

Trail Ambassadors

The Canalway Trails Association New York (CTANY), in collaboration with Parks & Trails New York and the New York State Canal Corporation, initiated Canalway Trail Ambassadors in order to provide a “presence” on the trail and enhance the experiences of trail users.

In 2008, Ambassadors were placed on a segment of trail in Schenectady County as a pilot project under the auspices of the Friends of the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail, as the Canalway Trail is known in this area. In 2012, the program expanded to the Rochester area. In 2015, an Ambassador group was formed at Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum to serve the section of trail within Old Erie Canal State Park.

If you would like to participate in the Trail Ambassadors Program in the Schenectady-Niskayuna-Colonie area, please contact the Friends of the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail (518-372-8478).

To serve as an Ambassador in the Old Erie Canal State Park area (Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties), contact the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum (315 687-3801).

For information about serving as an Ambassador in Monroe County or in other Canalway Trail locations, contact Park & Trails New York.